Polymerization of olefins and reactor therefor

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION AND ARRANGEMENT OF CATALYST PARTICLES OF A CATALYST BED IN A REACTOR FOR THE POLYMERIZATION OF GASEOUS OLEFINS, SAID BED HAVING SMALL CROSS SECTION DIMENSIONS RELATIVE TO ITS HEIGHT, COMPRISING RANDOM PACKING A REACTION VESSEL HAVING AN INLET AT ITS UPPER END AND AN OUTLET AT ITS LOWER END WITH A NONPOROUS SILICEOUS ACID-FILM CATALYST SUPPORT HAVING PARTICLES RANGING IN SIZE FROM 4 TO 50 MESH, BACKWASHING THE RANDOM PACKED CATALYST SUPPORT WITH WATER INTRODUCED INTO THE REACTOR AT ITS OUTLET AND DISCHARGED FROM THE REACTOR AT ITS INLET AT A RATE OF AT LEAST 8.5 GALLONS PER SQUARE FOOT PER MINUTE, TO GRADATE THE CATALYST SUPPORT ACCORDING TO PARTICLE SIZE WITH THE FINER PARTICLES NEAR THE INLET OF THE RAEACTOR AND THE COARSER PARTICLES NEAR THE OUTLET, DRAINING THE WATER FROM THE CATALYST SUPPORT, COVERING THE CATALYST SUPPORT WITH PHOSPHERIC ACID AND DRAINING PHOSPHERIC ACID FROM THE CATALYST SUPPORT TO LEAVE A FILM OF PHOSPHERIC ACID UPON THE SURFACE OF THE SUPPORT.